Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- An interesting aspect of Disney’s Alice In Wonderland, deserves some attention, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write about it.

Once Alice is in Wonderland, she immediately comes upon the woods, and from there she steps in and out of the woods to meet up with new crazies and her peculiar adventures. The effects department was used to signal this move in and out of the dark world of wonderland. She constantly steps in and out of shadows.

This, as anyone who did animation in the pre-computer age, knows that it was a complication to add shadows. Not only the shadows under the characters but the shadows over and around the characters. It meant filming the scenes twice, just for the shadows. Since the camera, during the filming of Alice, was not computerized this double shooting had to be done by hand VERY CAREFULLY. Every frame had to exactly match.

Hence, this was an important part of the design. The directors and Disney took these shadows seriously; after all they cost twice as much – just to photograph. Never mind animating them, coloring them or planning them.

I’ve put together a number of frame grabs which illustrate the move into or out of shadows, and I’d like to share them.

Here, Alice steps out of a shadow for the first time, and meets up with
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. They’re partially covered, themselves, by shadow.
This variant of the shadow is a hard line of darkness that moves over her.

(Click any image to enlarge.)

Soon, Alice moves toward the Duchess’ house. We cut from her
standing dark in shadow, to her walking in a brighter light.

As she moves toward the Caterpillar, Alice is covered with shrubbery and shadow.
She is next seen struggling through the foliage to talk to the Caterpillar, in full light.

This variant of the shadow is a total shift in color as her entire body moves into darkness.
It was done by dissolving one Alice into another – meaning the cels were painted twice.

In the woods, Alice walks into and out of and into shadows.

She slowly moves toward the Cheshire Cat who directs her to the tea party.
As she does she moves from shadow and cuts into light as she appears at the gate.

This is a particularly nice effect wherein the entire area gets spotlighted -
led by the character. The area outside of the spot darkens slowly and beautifully.

Once leaving the tea party, she wanders around the Tulgey Wood trying to find any direction. Shadows aplenty as she moves endlessly through the woods.

Alice moves into and out of shadow via dissolves.

Alice passes by many crazy characters, going in and out of darkness.

Just prior to meeting up with the Cheshire Cat, and has an extended conversation
which just about ends her stay in the woods.

Finally, Alice steps into the Cheshire Cat’s tree and
into the light of the maze of cards to meet the Red Queen.

- Given the current release of the Jolly Frolics DVD that has just been released via TCM, and given the release of the new book by UPA book When Magoo Flew, by Adam Abraham, I thought this a good time to repost this brochure which seems to tie into the exhibit at the MoMA.

- Bill Peckmann sent me this brochure back in 2011. I’d not seen it before he’d sent it, so became a bit of a treasure to me, a big fan of UPA.

Here’s Bill’s note:

This is a studio brochure/mailer* reprinted from American Artist Magazine Nov. 1955. I remember reading the article in high school, it had a huge impact. I remembered it for many years after because of the scarcity of animation articles at that time. And, because it appeared in an “art” magazine, it seemed to make “cartooning” legit.
Did Disney art ever appear in an “art” magazine around this time?

*This brochure was given to me by Ruth Mane (UPA Alumni) many, years ago.

1
(Click any image to enlarge.)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

There’s no doubt this article followed up on the Museum of Modern Art‘s 1955 show of UPA art. Amid Amidi posted an extraordinary piece about this show on his Cartoon Modern site. By the way, this is an exquisite site. It’s just a shame that Amid let it lay after his promotion for his book Cartoon Modern. Take some time and browse around that site when you have some time.

A snap of one of the walls at the 1955 MoMA UPA Exhibit.
(from Amid Amidi’s site, Cartoon Modern.)

Check out our POE Project on Kickstarter. We’re almost 100 strong! Thanks to everyone for their support! Kickstarter

Today’s Post:

- Mickey goes down. This is a very rough scene (sc. 49) animated by Preston Blair for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Ugo D’Orsi did animated water effects.
It all comes from rough rough copies of copies.

202

204

206

208

210

212

214

216

218

220

222

224

226

228

230

234

236

238

240

242

244

248

252

______________________

The following QT includes all the drawings posted above.

The registration is a bit loose. Sorry but, these are obviously
copies of copies and there’s plenty of shrinkage and distortion.

Click on the right side of the lower bar to watch it one frame at a time.

- Since I’m well into the book, When Magoo Flew by Adam Abraham I thought it an appropriate time to take a look at this comic book I have. From 1953, it’s a Gerald McBoing Boing / Mr. Magoo mash up, a Dell comic book. The artwork is wildly off model from the animated cartoons and is wild enough to look like a Jim Tyer impersonator trying to do 20th Century graphics, just the way UPA would do them.

I don’t know who the artists were, and wonder if anyone out there has a clue. Please to leave a comment if you can figure it out. Here are two of the three stories in the magazine – one McBoing Boing and one Magoo.

The comic book cover

The inner cover

1
Story #1 – McBoing Boing

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12
Story # 2 – Mr. Magoo

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Inner Back Cover

And the Back cover

Given the new book coming onto the market, Rowland B. Wilson’s Trade Secrets: Notes for Cartooning and Animation, I thought it appropriate to take a fresh look at some of his brilliant art for the animated film.

Last week I showcased some material previously posted, which had been done as preproduction art for Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. Today, we look back to some of the work for Disney’s Hercules. It’s all pretty stunning material. Unquestionably the work of a master.

This is a book that was put together by Suzanne Lemieux Wilson, and it looks to be as much about animation as about cartooning. I’m not sure exactly what’s in the book, but I’m certainly eager to find out, and will give you a report as soon as I see it.

- Here’s Hercules.
This entry includes character sketches for characters that developed into something completely different, or didn’t end up in the film at all.

Once again, I must express my debt of gratitude to the generosity of Bill Peckmann for lending me the art to post here. And to Suzanne Lemieux Wilson for some additional sketches. Thank you, both.

1
Megara

2
Hades – version 1

3
Hades – version 2

4
Hades – version 3

5
Death

6
Pegasus

7a
Centaus 1 drawing

7b
Centaurs 1 color

8
Centaurs 2

9a
Bakeus – drawing

9b
Titans 1 – Bakeus – color

10a
Shakeus – drawing

10b
Titans 2 – Shakeus – color

11
Titans 3

12
Titans 4

These watercolors are less character designs than they are inspirational pieces. They are inspirational. How stunning this art. I would have loved seeing something like this on the screen rather than Gerald Scarfe‘s. But that’s just me.

As with some of the last posts, I’m showing the larger piece (and they are large) and then going in for some tighter blowups.

13
(Click any image to enlarge.)

13A

14

Typed beneath this image:
HERC AND PHIL ADDRESS ZEUS ON MT. OLYMPUS
The realm of the gods is in the sky. The landscape is made of sky imagery –
the classic buildings, the trees, the hills are the colors of rainbows, thunderheads,
lightning, rain, hail and stars. Trees have tops made of clouds and trunks of rain
or lightning. Buildings evolve out of mist as do the gods themselves.
The gods can be large or human scale as needed.

In mythology, Zeus changed himself into a swan, a bull, a cloud,
and even a shower of gold.

Everything is as changeable and colorful as a sunset.

14A

14B

15
Hercules and the Hydra.

15A

16
Typed below this image:

THE HOME OF THE GODS.

A skyscape. Trees, mountains and waterfalls appear and dissolve away.
We can see shapes in the clouds – temples and statues.
Lightning flashes and stars gleam in unexpected places.
The whole skyscape is slowly drifting.

16A

16B

17
This ain’t heaven.

17A

17B

17C

18

This one looks almost as though it were painted
on black velvet – appropriately enough.

18A

18B

18C

Suzanne Wilson also sent these very rough cartoons RBW did:
19

20

21

Kickstarter Redux

We’re still kicking, so to speak, in a Kickstarter sort of way. So, why am I passionate about POE? I read his stories and poems in high school and they made an indelible mark on my life as an artist. For me, the name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and bloody corpses walled within false chimneys. Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured my imagination, so too has Poe himself. Was he some morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles? Or is this the Poe of legend? I think that this fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, the legend and the man behind the legend, extends far beyond my own personal and artistic interest. Poe’s life and stories would make a fantastic and fascinating animated feature and I think there is a large audience out there waiting for it. Please take the time to check out the Kickstarter page, and if you can contribute anything, thank you. If not, tell your friends. It’s the friends and the friends of friends who will help us move forward.

Kickstarter Redux

We’re still kicking, so to speak, in a Kickstarter sort of way. So, why am I passionate about POE? I read his stories and poems in high school and they made an indelible mark on my life as an artist. For me, the name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and bloody corpses walled within false chimneys. Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured my imagination, so too has Poe himself. Was he some morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles? Or is this the Poe of legend? I think that this fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, the legend and the man behind the legend, extends far beyond my own personal and artistic interest. Poe’s life and stories would make a fantastic and fascinating animated feature and I think there is a large audience out there waiting for it. Please take the time to check out the Kickstarter page, and if you can contribute anything, thank you. If not, tell your friends. It’s the friends and the friends of friends who will help us move forward.

Jumpin’ John Carter

- I saw Andrew Stanton‘s film John Carter this past Tuesday. Actually, I saw part of the film; I walked out after about 80 minutes. It was unwatchable in my book. Hundreds of computer created alien creatures with long necks and horns on their heads, and they all looked alike even though they were supposed to have personalities, I think.

Meanwhile, John Carter is bounding miles around the Martian desert jumping all over the place for no particular reason. Creatures are shooting weapons at . . . oh who cares!

The film’s like a video game, completely without wit or any real intellect. It’s tedious beyond belief and a total waste of time. Go at your own risk. I don’t think it was worth the money it cost to make; Pixar could have made Finding Nemo 2 & 3 for the price. (By the way, Mars Needs Moms wasn’t good, but it was MUCH better than John Carter.) But I guess my opinion on this is really superfluous, and I’m not sure why I wrote anything about it.

______________________

What’s Opera Doc?

- Now onto a good film. William Benzon has an extraordinary article about
Chuck Jones‘ What’s Opera Doc? on his website,
The New Savannah. Plentifully illustrated he writes an
in depth article about the short, and it’s well worth the visit
for his commentary.

______________________

Newsies on Broadway

- On Wednesday I got to see a dress rehearsal of the new Disney theatrical Broadway presentation, Newsies. This is a brand new show adapted from the Disney movie of 1992 that starred Christian Bale and Robert Duvall. Alan Menken wrote songs for the film, and he’s rewritten songs for the show. Harvey Fierstein has written the book for the Broadway musical, and it’s set to open on March 29th.

The show talks about the child labor laws in the early part of the 20th century and the organizing of a u-nion of the newspaper sales force to protect them from the likes of the major industries seeking to make bucks off their backs. (Needless to say, this is a show for our times, as the super conservatives try to destroy collective bargaining thus destroy labor laws and u-nion representation.)

The show is full of rousing musical numbers, intense power dancing choreographed by a brilliant Christopher Gatelli and superb direction by Jeff Calhoun. It’s amazing with such a large and constantly moving cast, that Mr. Calhoun is able to keep the sight lines so beautifully clear. Excellent work. The cast does not include major stars, and that’s wonderful – almost like something new on Broadway. Jeremy Jordan, who leads the pack of “Newsies,” is obviously going to be a star.

Great use of space for a large cast.

The set design was by Tobin Ost, and it’s basically steel girder like objects that move around the stage forming and reforming different constructs that serve many purposes. It reminded me (very marginally) of the brilliant set to Company by Boris Aronson back in 1970.

There seems to be a bit of work to go in finalizing the show (I would have liked to have seen more intimate moments – especially in the dance work), but it really is all there. A fierce piece from Disney, that I hope does well. It’s supposedly set for a limited run, but I think that’s questionable. It’ll run for a long time – a crowd pleaser.

______________________

Hyperion at A Film LA

- I love a post that’s been placed by Hans Perk on his great site, A Film LA. It’s a real breakdown of the original Disney Hyperion Studio. Hans gives maps and directions to where this historic studio stood, and then proceeds to map out the entire studio giving us charts, photos and background information where everything stood.

I’m not sure we even have this with the main studio lot anymore. It was the Hyperion studio where the Disney brothers grew and outgrew themselves, producing all those great Mickeys and Silly Symphonies and Snow White and a lot of the preliminary work on Bambi.

I’m always taken aback by the meticulous detail that Hans provides for us over and over in all these incredible posts on his site.

______________________

Miyazaki to UPA

- In the recent days I’ve been just about all consumed with the Miyazaki canon of films. I spent an enormous amount of time reviewing, watching, scouring Spirited Away and have really been taken with the film, the animation, the direction, the story.

This led me to watch some of the earlier films to see where the film came from. Kiki’s Delivery Service wasn’t much help, though it was good to see where he came from. However, I have been a fan of Princess Mononoke and watching that again gives me a lot of ideas and thoughts. The animation for that film is somewhat limited, but the use of well drawn crowd scenes and maneuvers really is enlightening. Watching some of the natural woodland planning, backgrounds and direction is quite special, and I have to admit a certain awe with how he pulled it out of the film with such seeming effortlessnessand beauty.

I like to think that this is all going into my recent concentration of my POE film, and I’m sure it is. I have so many thoughts about that one. It’s a project that’s pushing me forward like I can’t tell you, and the only inspiration I seem to be getting is from these Miyazaki films. I know the financial direction the film’s going to have to take to get done (next to no money), but I’m determined, and I’m hoping some deal arrangement can be made very soon.

The Kickstarter campaign is the juice for the whole thing, and I can’t tell you how important that’s been for me. I’m trying desperately to get a couple of heavy hitters to get that money realized, but nothing yet. Your support has been enormous and enormously helpful.

Anyway, back to Miyazaki. I have been watching the films of this master, but my tide is turning a bit. I received the new UPA book, When Magoo Flew by Adam Abraham, and have been reading that. Of course, it’ll lead to the shorts when that new DVD package reaches me – hopefully soon. The Jolly Frolics collection.

When I’ve finished reading it, I’ll write a review, and let me tell you it’s a fast read for me even though I’m trying to take my time. There’s a lot of solid research in there with a lot of strong details. It spends quite a bit of time talking about the politics of the time and studio.

However, once into it, I’m hoping for a bit more lyricism in the writing as a way of capturing the inspiration from the work they did on some of those gorgeous films. Perhaps I’ll only be able to get that from watching the films.

However, I still haven’t left the Miyazaki films, and I will write something probably too long when I get into it. The guy has my head twirling, I have to tell you, and it’s a bit hard for me to turn around and think about UPA with the material I’ve been getting from the Japanese contingent. I also want to watch 101 Dalmatians a little closer. I have seen the opening about half a dozen times in the last couple of weeks.

I have been a fan of James Stevenson‘s work forever.
He’s an intelligent, imaginative, brilliant draftsman and writer. Two of my all time favorite books are a collection of drawn editorials he did for various publications. Something Marvelous Is About To Happen and Uptown Local, Downtown Express.
(In the past, I’ve featured a couple of articles from these books, and will do again in the future, no doubt.)

I’ve been a big fan of his many children’s books and have purchased the rights to two of them and made animated shorts of them, Monty and What’s Under My Bed?

It was a pleasure to see the art sent by Bill Peckmann.
Stevenson’s wonderful book, The Sea View Hotel. Here are the scans sent to me by Bill:

The Sea View Hotel – book cover

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Yes, there’s more to come.

- For those archivists out there, I continue posting my collection of Action Analysis notes from the Don Graham night classes at the Disney Studio. These took place in the Spring of 1937. The following lecture took place on May 10, 1937.

It’s an analysis of a film clip of a girl getting out of a car. The focus is wholly on the movement of the drapery in action around her.

The participants of the class include: Joe Magro, Jacques Roberts, Izzie Klein, David Rose, Ken Petersen, Paul Satterfield, Jimmie Culhane, and Walter Clinton.

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12

13 14