"Designing a Contemporary Classic: The Art and Process of 101 Dalmatians" panel discussion at the Walt Disney Family Museum (February 12, 2011)

Well, I'm off to a great start with this blogging.  I thought I'd better get another post in before a month passed.

This past Saturday, I attended a program at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, with Don Iwerks, Disney animator Andreas Deja, and Disney storyboard artist Floyd Norman talking about "101 Dalmatians."  Deja is younger than the other two, did not work on that film, but is apparently a bit of a historian.  Iwerks did not work on that film, either, but he was working for the company at the time, and it was his father, Ub Iwerks, who developed the process that made "101 Dalmatians" a revolutionary film for Disney.  Prior Disney films were made by an animator drawing the action, an inker tracing the drawings onto cells, and a painter coloring those cells.  With this film, the animators' drawings were Xeroxed onto the cells, which put a lot of inkers out of work, but probably saved Disney animation by lowering the cost of production.

I had seen Floyd Norman speak at a prior event, and was eager to see him again, because of his easy-going style.  He comes across as genuinely nice, and seems to have many stories to tell.  So, when I saw that he would be at the WDFM, I planned a trip up to San Francisco.  I had to get up at 5 a.m., but I was able to sleep much of the way, because I brought my personal driver.  We arrived about two hours before the 3:00 program, so we ate a snack, looked at a small exhibit of live-action Disney movie posters, and browsed the gift shop.  Andreas Deja acted as moderator, showing slides of production art and asking questions of his two fellow panelists.  I was very interested to learn about the Xerox process, but I found myself nodding off when Don Iwerks described the process in detail.  It was too technical for me!  Instead of using actual Xerox machines, the studio worked with Xerox to create a three-room, human-powered Xerox machine.  Floyd Norman spoke a bit about Bill Peet, who was the sole storyboard artist for the film!  Norman said that Peet read the original book, adapted the screenplay, and storyboarded the entire work in about six months.  Deja showed some production art next to Peet's storyboards--the animators stayed very close to Peet's vision.

One of the audience members asked how the animators felt about the Xerox process.  Looking at the post-"Sleeping Beauty" animated Disney films, there is a noticeably different style.  The artwork in "Dalmatians" and "Jungle Book" has a scratchy style, not seen in previous animated works.  This is the result of the Xerox process.  Both Deja and Norman replied that the animators were very pleased with the process, because, for the first time, they got to see their actual artwork on the screen.  In the previous process, the inkers would have smoothed out any imperfections.  I had noticed the scratchy style in some Disney films, but I had never thought about what would have caused that.  I think I just assumed that it was the artistic style that Disney had decided to go with during a particular era.

Another fun, behind-the-scenes revelation during the program--the vehicles and other large objects were models that were photographed with stop-motion, and those photos were Xeroxed.  The models were really neat looking, white with black lines where lines would have been drawn if the object was 2D.  The models were used so the objects would keep their proportions when they were moved.  This was another money-saving technique--the animators would not have to struggle to keep drawing the objects consistently from panel to panel.

The program was only about an hour and a half, but I learned quite a bit about the animation process--both the Xerox process and what was done before.  Now I just need to get a copy of the movie and watch it again.  I haven't seen "101 Dalmatians" since I was a child!  I wish the drive to San Francisco wasn't so long.  I would love to be able to visit the WDFM frequently.  This was my second visit, and I didn't buy a ticket to go into the galleries.  On my first visit, I spent seven hours at the museum, and there are probably things I overlooked.  It's truly an amazing place.  There are programs every month, but I doubt I'll see any more for quite some time.

On Sunday, I visited another San Francisco museum, the Musee Mecanique, but I'll leave that for another time.  (There is a Disney connection!)

Peter Fish, "The Case for Disneyland" Sunset, February 2011, p39

I wasn't going to start my blog writing about a three-paragraph magazine article about "The top 100 ideas, people, places, and things that are making life in the West better right now," but I couldn't believe what I read last night.  I picked up the Sunset habit at an early age, due to my parents' having a subscription as long as I can remember.  I have a subscription of my own now, though I occasionally wonder why, as the magazine has apparently been taken over by yuppie hipsters.  (They were just yuppies before, but at least they had some nice vacation destinations I could daydream about--now everything involves spas and learning how to farm.)  So, I was quite surprised to read a defense of Disneyland, one of my favorite places.  (Obviously--in case you didn't pick up on that, it's the "Park" in the title of this blog.)

I went to Disneyland occasionally as a child, of course, growing up in Los Angeles, but not frequently.  I remember visiting Disneyland's neighbor, Knott's Berry Farm, more often.  In recent years, however, I've become downright obsessed with the place.  This is, perhaps, a sign that I need to travel more, but it's awfully convenient right there in Anaheim!  Many adults don't seem to understand how other adults can love Disneyland so much.  What's not to love?  There are fun attractions, delicious things to eat, and friendly people everywhere!  Where else can you walk down a clean street, full of happy people, humming a jaunty tune?  The cleanliness and friendly staff seem to be part of what some people feel is wrong with Disneyland--it's too artificial.  I say, that's the whole point!  It's a place to escape reality for a while--you don't have to move in!  I appreciate the effort Disneyland employees put forth to create a pleasant environment that can be enjoyed by a diverse group of thousands, everyday.

So, here, in much more eloquent writing than mine, is "the case for Disneyland," from Sunset Magazine:
"So give in. Brave the lines. Let yourself go. Because somewhere, say on Nemo's submarine, you'll feel gratitude for pop culture that exalts rather than demeans. And you'll grasp the essential Disneyland secret: All the pains the park takes are taken just for you."