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"Basil of Baker Street" by novelist Eve Titus was an illustrated children's book centered on a mouse who fancied himself an ace detective. The mouse resided (naturally enough) inside the walls of 31 Baker Street in London, home of a human-sized ace detective, the name of whom escapes me.
Steve Hulett recounts his role in the the confusing and chaotic production of Disney's most un-Disney-like feature, "The Black Cauldron."
Today we look at the work of Will Finn, Cartoon Brew's Artist of the Day!
"Chief has to DIE,” Ron Clements said. “The picture doesn't work if he just breaks his LEG. Copper doesn't have enough motivation to hate the fox."
Don Bluth and his troops were gone, but the studio still had an animated movie to get out. Art Stevens, now lead director, was slowly pulling the picture together with the animators and layout artists who remained loyal to the Mouse. But the animation department was still in flux.
Don Bluth smiled at me. "I wouldn't worry about being laid off from Disney's, Steve. Nobody gets laid off around here. When somebody messes up, the studio just sends them to WED."
Before I got hired at Disney Features, I sold a few magazine articles and developed a love of writing for print, where there was nothing between writer and reader but words on a page. When I became a Disney employee, I realized I was surrounded by animation veterans with vivid memories of the rambunctious days at the old Hyperion studio, and the creative struggles that went into making "Snow White," "Pinocchio," and the other early features. Talking to older Mouse House staffers, it dawned on me they could provide great source material for articles.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the stodgy group of film industry workers who hand out the Oscars, has revealed a list of the 271 people it has invited to become members of its organization this year.
I was back in Don Duckwall's office, exchanging insincere smiles with him. I had been on "The Fox and the Hound" with Larry, Woolie, and everybody else for half a year. But now Don wanted me to go on another assignment.
Larry had me writing sequence scripts for "The Fox and the Hound," which turned out to be my assignment for the next six months. Part of the package was attending Woolie Reitherman's marathon story sessions, which often left me drained and dazed. There were also Woolie's marathon take-selection meetings, which left me drained and bewildered.
Disney's head animation writer in 1977 was cartoon veteran Larry Clemmons, who had first been hired at the studio in 1930. At the time of his hiring, he was a Yale graduate with a degree in architecture, but an Ivy League education was of little value in 1930 when the economy was collapsing...and few buildings were being erected.
Veronika Samartseva is an animation director from Germany, who specializes in analog animation techniques. Her award-winning films have been shown at international festivals worldwide. After her graduation from HFF Konrad Wolf Babelsberg, Veronika joined the Berlin-based animation collective Talking Animals. Recently she started teaching animation at the BTK University of Design.
Determined to unleash Smile's potential, Coach Koizumi devises a relentless schedule of training that culminates in a death match pitting old veteran versus young hopeful. Smile's resistance finally cracks under the pressure, and he begins to get serious. Meanwhile, the appearance of a new rival - the tough-looking Ryuichi Kazama - sets the stage for a later showdown.
Japanese-American animation legend Jimmy Murakami, who played an important role in the development of Ireland's animation industry, has died at the age of 80, reported the organization Animation Ireland. The cause of death is unknown.
Surpassing even the most generous box office predictions, Disney's "Frozen" continues to shatter records.
To acknowledge the crucial role of animators in the evolving world of filmmaking, the Visual Effects Society today nominated Ryan Stone, Bullock's character in "Gravity," for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live-Action Feature Motion Picture.
Elena and Olivia Ceballos are 19-year-old twin sisters from Georgia who work as visual development artists at Big Ideas Entertainment on the "Veggie Tales" franchise.
Discover a more personal side of the Disney animation legend.
"Space Dandy", the eagerly-awaited anime series from the creative team behind "Cowboy Bebop," will debut on Adult Swim's Toonami block in January 2014.
Roger Rabbit is back! The character, which began its life in an adult-oriented novel written by Gary K. Wolf, will ...