Patty Disney passes

Patty and Roy celebrate their Wedding Anniversary

Very sad to report the passing of Patricia Disney, former wife of Roy E. Disney, who died today at 77. She was a bubbly person known to most of us as Patty. We also shared the fact that we were both born in the "Big Easy", "Nawlins"  or as some of you yankees might say, New Orleans.

Roy and Patty were philanthropic with one of their last gifts being the 55,000 square-foot Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center at Providence St. Joseph in Burbank. She had been married to Roy for 51 years before they divorced. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.

Chuck Jones Experience, PART 2

Linda opens the Festivities

Neil receives his just deserts

The next day was Thursday, the official Press Opening and it was attended by hundreds of eager fans that had driven or flown from as far away as Florida to be here. Linda approached the mic and began, "I was seriously considering going to the rest room before coming up  here." the audience muffled giggles." Now that I'm up here, I'm not sure I made the right decision." Everyone there cracked up and I mean howled for 5 minutes. Like father, like daughter, eh?

Linda then read a beautiful heartfelt letter written by Chuck to a then 1 year old Grandson named Craig that had many an eye welling up including Craig himself.  Craig then commanderred the mic  as he smiled, "Don't break the dam mother, don't break the dam." fighting the tears back with a smile.  Craig then took time out to thank some of the hard working people responsible for this unique exhibit including Neil Cantor, Robert Patrick and John Ramirez.

The son Mel never knew

He eventually relinguished the mic to the talented Eric Goldberg and after a sutable number of hrrummphs and clearings of his throat, gave us an incredible dead on rendition of Bugs Bunny singing a section from Chuck's 1950 classic "Barber of Seville" finishing with a quick retort from Daffy Duck that Mel Blanc himself would have relished. I would be willing to bet that Eric must be a hoot at Karaoke.

We were also entertained to Chuck's lovely wife Marian Jones who offered her personal recollections of Chuck with such memorable quotes as, "The rules are simple, take your work, but never yourself seriously." Neil Cantor was honored by a hefty and heavy statue of the Coyote for his tremendous work in making this show a reality. I also had the chance to meet and spend a little time with the brilliant John Rameriz who was one of the artistic geniuses behinfd the nuts and bolts of asembling this exhibit.

How did these guys sneak past security?

Before we knew what was going on some of us were then ushered to stand against a wall. I wondered aloud why they hadn't at least given us blindfolds. Suddenly a battery of flash bulbs exploded looking like a fotographic-firing squad.  I was relieved they were only wielding cameras as our retinas slowly sizzled away to tiny red dots in the solar flare of flashes. You know as I look at this photo I can't help but reflect on the physical differences between Animation artists and other artists. The 3 fellows on the left (Jeff DeGrandis, Eric Goldberg and Mike Peraza) are all Disney Animators and obviously haven't skipped too many of the free meals offered by Disney when in final production. Also when you compare their rather pale complexions to those radiating healthy tans on the right one wonders how often they escape from their desks to venture outside into the sunlight. Hey, it's just a personal observation and I could be mistaken in my conclusions. What's that waiter? Another Créme Bulée for me? Ahhh, the things one must endure for the sake of one's art.

Pepe LePhew for a lady from Texas

Can't turn down a chance to draw

Speaking of one's art, one of my favorite parts of the experience hands down (pun intended) was what we call the "Big Draw" on Friday morning.  The Warner library of toons under Chuck's guidance are just plain fun to draw. Although most of the artists had left by then, Jim and Bob and I were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. I did my best at sketching out request drawings for the folks with characters from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Wile E. Coyote to a Valentine for a lady from Texas with her favorite-Pepe LePhew and his gal Friday.

I would explain how I was constructing the characters while sketching and at the same time regaling the assembled guests with some some stories of my own that got em' laughing. Of course it's questionable whether they were laughing with me or at me. In the end of course all the credit goes to Chuck for having a strong hand in creating all these lovable characters we know today.

A Cartoon Culinary Delight

I was interviewed by another of the jovial Jones grandchildren, Tod Kausen when I was leaving and one of the questions  he asked was what I liked about the exhibit. It would have been easier to ask what I didn't like. Chuck's career spanned over 60 years, more than 300 animated films garnering tons of awards including 3 Oscars! To be able to study Chuck's original drawings, see his paintings, both original and reproductions, watch his cartoons, tour a full life size fantasy world of his creations, enjoy a gallery of Animation Fine Art, lean over his personal desk and walk through his workspace and so much more. Well, I turned the tables and asked Tod to try to hurry the interview through, so I could take the tour again.

During this trip I also reflected that the first cartoons I had experienced were the Merry Melodies including some of the ones screening right there in the theater. They would be on when I went to school in the morning and back on to greet me when I got home in the afternoon.Of course back then we only had a black and white Television set (Thufferring thuckatash! ) but eventually I also enjoyed most of them again in full color in series like the "Bugs Bunny Show". Next to Walt Disney, Chuck Jones had definitely been one of the biggest influences in my life.

Bidib-bidid-bidib...That's All Folks!

If you are in Las Vegas, seen the shows, tried your luck but didn't drive away with the new Ferrari, you owe it to yourself to zip down to CIRCUS CIRCUS and see the newly opened "Chuck Jones Experience".

You'll be happily swallowed into the creative world of legendary animator Chuck Jones. You may even be fortunate enough to go home with your very own piece of Chuck Jones artwork, like I did. Besides the very collectable art, you can also pick up themed clothing, toys and my favorite obsession-books! Among the tomes I bought was a gem entitles, "The 100 Greatest LOONEY TUNES Cartoons" by animation historian Jerry Beck. Patty and I actually made the first purchase at the newly open exhibit but after enjoying the place we realized it was just the first of many more to come.

Chuck Jones Experience, PART 1

A great reason to visit Las Vegas!

This last week my wife and I were invited as guests of the Chuck Jones family to attend the opening of the "Chuck Jones Experience" located at Circus Circus In Las Vegas. It was an amazing event attended by a who's who of Disney and Warner animation  artists and a crowd of fantastic fans honoring one of the undisputed pioneers of animation, Chuck Jones. 

Like my wife, the rooms were beautiful.

Patty and I flew out to the event arriving early Wednesday morning and checked into our spacious rooms at Circus Circus. Realizing that wabbit season was long over but the Chuck Jones Experience was about to begin, this pair of bunnies quickly burrowed downstairs.  We popped up at the event in time to see the Jones family gathering in front of the as yet sealed exhibit for a sneak preview of the event that would officially open the next day to the press and public. Chuck's gracious daughter, Linda Jones Clough, received the crowd in her usual warm fashion and shared family tales as well as insight into her dad's philosophy, "Of course Chuck made it very clear to us the he definitely did not want any sort of monument or legacy to be created about him after he was gone, " and added with a twinkle, "we of course completely ignored that." gesturing to the huge exhibit behind her. The crowd erupted into laughs and applause, then Craig Kausen, her son and a major force behind this exhibit and the "Big Draw" joined in with more tales along with moving anecdotes of his legendary Grandfather. 

Linda Jones Clough at the Preview
for the Chuck Jones Experience

One of the Classroom wall murals

With Linda and Craig leading the way, we were then treated to a private tour of the new facilities by first entering a classroom topped with video screens running non-stop Chuck Jones classics. Among the artistic equipment furnished for the budding artists, this room is filled with drawing tables, easels, rolls of paper and boxes upon boxes of chalk and markers. You pass a billboard sized blowup of one of Chuck's paintings on the far wall that the assembled animators and other artists were asked to sign and doodle which of course was an honor for us. From there we  viewed a top rate gallery showcasing some sparkling animation artwork.

There are works of other artists, (including yours truly ) that were created as a tribute to Chuck and are for sale in the Gallery. For me the main draw just has to be the works of Chuck's inspiring originals and limited edition works that you also have the unique opportunity to buy and own. These include original rough model suggestions of his famous creations such as Wile E. Coyote and Pepé Le Pew that are true collector's items. You can also pick up limited edition prints of his unique interpretation of the Warner tribe that were originally executed in oils. Hallways are adorned with fun and sometimes even thought provoking Chuck quotes such as, "I often dream that I am Bugs Bunny only to wake-up and discover I'm Daffy Duck." 

Craig and Linda invite you into a piece of Chuck's studio

One of the first stops is a movie theater that shows some of the most famous animated film from Chuck's mind. You quickly realize how much you miss these gems when compared to the slop that mascarades these days as cartoons. If you can tear yourself away from the fun, you'll turn a corner and find yourself in Chuck Jones's studio or at least a very accurate recreation of it including his animation desk and a few well stocked bookshelves he referred to frequently when creating his films. One thing I couln't understand, Chuck's desk is soooooo clean! I mean come on, mine is layered with erasure crumbs, push pin holes, broken pencil leads, paint splatters etc. I have a sneaky suspicion they cleaned it up for the masses or he's even a bigger genius than I gave him credit for.

Chuck Jones Experience Measures Up

Around yet another corner you will find one of the golden Academy Awards Chuck won while directing at Warner Brothers with amusing letters from friends ranging from Tex Avery to Walt Disney. You can also stand beside and take a picture with a lifesize Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck statues as they attempt to direct an off stage Merry Melody. If you ever wondered how you measure up to the original animaniacs, well here's your big chance. Linda took me to a stage where they blew up and cut out one of Chuck's comparative size model sheets and you can see how tall in the saddle or short in the stirrups you measure alongside these toon legends.

Colonel Blip model by Chuck

There is treasure seemingly around every corner and no matter how closely you look, you will nevertheless miss something. Also keep in mind that since this is a revolving exhibition, most likely there will be updates and new pieces the next time you visit the "Chuck Jones Experience."

Mike, Rob and Patty at the Steak House

That evening, after we had all enjoyed the marvelous sneak peek, we attended a suptous feast at the Steak House, rated as the number one steak resturant in Vegas and deservedly so. My wife Patty ordered the Prime Rib and being a lady, asked for the "petite cut". Not being a lady but rather a greedy slob, I went with the "Bone in cut" which the waiter said was a heartier serving. He wasn't kidding. When he brought around my serving, I thought the table would buckle under the Bedrock size slab which stretched across the plate.

Between gastronomic gags we were able to catch up with out dinner mates such as another of the key people responsible for putting this together and a wonderful friend Robert Patrick. We also broke bread and shared stories with artist Bob Elias, photographer Steven Russo, animator /director Rob Minkoff and his lovely wife Crystal Kung Minkoff. It's always a bit unusual but lots of fun to see animation folks in formal wear on the town instead of the usual jeans and t-shirts slumped over their animation desks. Rob and Patty look great as they get ready for desert but I'm definitely more comfortable on the other side of the camera. Now then where's my Créme Brulée?

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jim Henson Tribute

Kermit croons a spellbinding theme called Rainbow Connection.

When a friend called to ask me to contribute a piece or two for a tribute to the visionary muppeteer Jim Henson to be held this month, I couldn't say yes fast enough. I had worked briefly with Jim and Frank Oz on their first muppet feature, "The Muppet Movie," as what else? A muppeteer. I was Emmet Otter and my classmate and future wife Patty Paulick was ironically MA otter. On the movie set we quickly learned important terminology like, "Muppets Up!" That popular ditty would soon be followed by the equally unforgettable, "Muppets down!" As Jim explained, "you new people have no idea how tired your arm will get just holding it in an UP position. A few minutes here and a few there and soon you realize the entire day has gone by and for some reason, your arm is really sore." Many seasoned muppeteers grinned in silent agreement with Jim and so we took that tidbit to heart rather quickly. It was and IS  great advice by the way. We found ourselves surrounded by talented people from all walks in life that somehow shared a passion for puppetry. These people were amazing to watch as their performances brought each character to life before our eyes.

Frank Oz, but you can call him MA Otter

We performed to a pre-recorded soundtrack and worked below floor level, watching small TV screens to check on the movement we couldn't see above our heads. After a few hours sped by we were enjoying our first lunch break when a lanky figure ambled over to sit with Patty and I. It was Kermit, followed very  closely by his alter ego Jim Henson. Jim asked us in his soft spoken voice how we were enjoying the shoot so far and as Kermit entered the conversation I found myself looking and speaking to him, along with Jim. It was magic. If you have ever met or worked with Jim you realize I am not exagerating when I say how friendly and pleasant to be around the guy was. A shrill voice soon interrupted  our talk as Miss Piggy invaded our little circle dragging along Frank Oz by the arm. It was hilarious watching and listening as Kermit and Miss Piggy went at it while the human counterparts below seem to almost disappear. Miss Piggy complained about many things including how drafty the sound stage was, which was why the curls were not staying in her hair and the fact that Frank's hands were too cold (and a few other remarks )and we all cracked up. That was hands down, (or is that muppets down? ) one of the most convivial crews I have ever worked with. 

As Frank was the voice for MA he took some time to help Patty out with her characterization of the little woman. Jim likewise gave me pointers on Emmet but also threw some real compliments my way concerning my muppeteering skills that I will always cherish. I actually felt guilty when I got my paycheck for doing what was truly a thrill for me. I did eventually cash the check, I mean come on, starving artist, remember?  Like many people reading this blog, I have been a fan of Jim's work back when the muppets were more or less nameless monsters and were featured in black and white television commercials and on the Ed Sullivan Show. My brothers and I would squeal with laughter at the antics of a small lizard like creature, nameless at the time but after a few more design modifications like webbed feet, we would all know him eventually as Kermit the Frog.  We also enjoyed Rowlf the Dog on the "Jimmy Dean Show". So when the Gallery  came a' knocking for a tribute piece, I was thrilled at the opportunity to share my deep appreciation for Jim Henson and what he has done for me and so many other childhoods in sharing his love for life.

"Soul Mates" basic blocking

"Soul Mates" adding washes

First thing I did was to knock out lots of quick little sketches. The second thing I did after looking at those embarrassing little doodles was realize it had been a long time since I had drawn these guys, and I had better get some good reference out and get reacquainted with the Muppet clan. I went ahead and spent the day looking through the many books I have on the Muppets, from "Jim Henson, The Works" to various Story books and record albums even resorted to sketching while watching a DVD of "Muppet Movie" and before too long I was once again comfortable with his wonderful world of muppet magic all over again. In fact with this sudden inundation of muppet mythos, I felt a "Rainbow Connection" forming or maybe it was just the tune stuck in my head. Anyway, eventually the two pieces I came up with for the Tribute show are as follows:

"Soul Mates" ready to ship

"Soul Mates"  is an acrylic on canvas with Kermit enjoying some quiet time with his favorite playmate (Jim Henson of course!). I thought it would be fun to see these two switch places with Jim as the puppet and Kermit as the muppeteer. I usually work in water color or gouache so doing this in acrylic was really a fun exercise for me. I had some Winsor Newton acrylics but had read some great reviews on the Golden line of paints. Found collections of Golden at a local art store that blended beautifully on the canvas and of course I destroyed a few of my brushes in the creative process.

"Muppets and Mullions"

"Muppets and Mullions" is inspired by a beautiful photograph taken of Jim sitting in an alcove window with a view of the New York City skyline holding alter ego Bert on his knee between shooting takes of Sesame Street. His fellow muppeteer Frank Oz brought Ernie to life and the two contrasting muppet personalities made for lots of muppet mirth. I wanted to silhouette Jim and Kermit against a chaotic cacophony of cutups (pun intended) of many familiar faces from the muppet family. I kept the "crowd" in white to be seen as a grouping and further simplify them as a light value to make the darker Jim and Kermit foreground pop. I cut this project out of hundreds of little snips of paper, slicing, scoring, folding, gluing until it all seemed to finally come together. (Thank you Mr Bill Moore our Design teacher from Cal Arts! ) I also must add that I along with my wife Patty are thankful we have a vacuum cleaner that works.

It's an honor to be a part of something that says thanks to a man who has brought so much enjoyment all over the world. The exhibition will be from December 10, 2011 to January 2, 2012 at GALLERY NUCLEUS located in Alhambra, California. Opening reception is December 10, 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM.  If you get a chance, come on down to the Gallery and say hello, I'd love to meet you.  While you're there, please enjoy the many wonderful "thank you notes" in the guise of dazzling artwork created by many very talented folks to the "man behind the muppets,  JIM HENSON."

Mickey's Xmas Carol, PART 3

Ken stops by Christmas Carol to supervise my model building

Two very close friends and legendary Disney Art Directors, both named "Ken," (O'Connor and Anderson), had spoken to me that they had  frequently built intricate models for many Disney films as an aid with pre-visuals and actual production to offer dramatic staging ideas and lighting. Ken Anderson had started it back during "The Old Mill" by constructing a wooden mill that could be dismantled to study the inside wooden gears. He built "Snow White's" cottage interior and exterior, and O'Connor did likewise with examples like Cinderella's coach and  rockets from "Man in Space". If those two thought it a good idea who was I to second guess? Besides, I've always enjoyed making models and small scale miniatures. Today of course we rely on computers to provide those services but back then it was all hard wood, metal, balsa, cardboard and plaster.

Vance Gerry sketch of Dick Lucas

I worked with Disney Feature animator and model maker Dick Lucas on "Fox and Hound" who was the model expert for Disney from the 1960s forward. He was the key person responsible for Cruella's car and he still had that model stashed besides his desk at work among others he had done over the years. I'll have to do a post on "101 Dalmations" some time and include my talks and pictures with Dick, Don, and Woolie on that car. Dick (and Muriel) lived two doors down from me and Don (and Kay) were 2 streets over so I could bug them about these kinds of things which I did frequently. Besides using models as vehicles, we also referred to them for props. The Disney Lot Prop Master gave me one of the door knockers used in "Mary Poppins" (Bank of England set ) to look at for Scrooges door knocker which is taken over by the spirit of Jacob Marley (Goofy). I told him I might be using it for quite a while and his response was a gruff, "Jes keep it. I got a nudder one here so jes keep it." You see at this point the prop collection was literally spilling out into the backlot (yes we even had a backlot in those days) so he explained no one had ever requested the item so one version was enough for his inventory.  For "Mickey's Christmas Carol", I built various sets including the counting house, Mickey's desk, Scrooges' desk, the stairway and the bedroom. I also created sculptures, some even articulated versions of the key characters like Mickey along with cutouts of Burny's drawings to place them into the sets for study and discussion.

Ghost of Christmas Past setting

These model sets and sculptures were available for loan out to anyone on the crew to aid with their scenes. Since the pieces were primarily paper and balsa wood, when Ted wanted to borrow the Ghost of Christmas Past set to study light patterns he asked me, "Is it OK to light the candle?" "Sure" I answered. When Ted returned the candle stick with the rest of the set at the end of production I wondered if he had used it as the sole means of lighting and warmth with a veritable mound of candle wax collected at the stem! I was honored though when one of my setups with Jimminy on the candle stick was recently used by Disney Fine Art as a basis towards a limited sculpture for the collectable crowd. With all these little model sets in my room, by the time Christmas rolled around I even put up a miniature decorated Christmas tree that actually lit up in the counting house set although the Scrooge sculpture, exhibiting his usual "Bah Humbug" scowl, didn't seem pleased with the festive addition to his dour domain.

John Lasseter and Mike Peraza check scene on moviola

As I mentioned earlier, we didn't have the ability to create computer graphics in 3D which is today considered mainstream for "animated" feature films. I was hoping to push the boundaries of 2D if not into 3D, than at least 2 1/2 D. One morning I found a scene depicting a quick flight through an alley and over some rooftops needing attention. Now you have to understand that this was a featurette and not a feature and although we all lavished every bit of quality we were allowed, deadlines and quotas had to be met. I had about an hour to think of a way to handle forward motion and while pondering the problem, John Lasseter, who was 2 rooms down came in to see what I was up to.

He was going to animate Scrooge hanging onto Jimminy with his tiny umbrella for the trip to the past and had just gone over the scene in storyboards next door with Burny.  He was as excited as I was about various ways we might re-stage the scenes and after we brainstormed it for a bit, I roughed out some layouts and gave them to him to follow. I had really wanted to involve the audience in a roller-coaster ride over London rooftops. I did a few crazy tests that were kind of fun and full of potential but only one scene was actually cut into the reel and unfortunately what you see on film is our first only take of that action. John added some creative personality bits having Scrooge attempt to crawl ON TOP of the slippery umbrella during their flight which definitely added to the sequence. But oh If we could only go back and redo it with the resources and experience we have now, ... sigh.

Example of Burny's care and attention to character

The animation was directed in a very organized yet enjoyable  manner by Burny with superb detailed model sheets for animators to follow. He issued model sheets that demonstrated key poses as well as others that  specifically detailed the final cleanup. Even with that kind of foresight to guide the production, pressure builds trying to create day after day. Gags both practical and drawn were always a great way to relieve that tension at Disney. We constantly exchanged gag drawings with each other lampooning everyone on the crew as well as the film itself, all in fun of course.

One gag resulted with an early snow in our hallways at Disney. Yes, I said SNOW, and IN our hallway. You see at the same time as Christmas Carol, the studio was working on a futuristic film called "TRON". Well that crew was working incredibly long hours at the end of its production and during one late night escapade, a few Tronites entered our dark and deserted Christmas Carol hallways and emptied studio fire extinguishers into a few rooms and covered the hallway. The stuff looked like snow, if you were a bit tipsy, which is most likely what the "volunteer firemen" from TRON were that evening. Unfortunately you just couldn't make a decent snowman out of that sticky goop (I tried) so it didn't endear itself to the unlucky victims. Luckily my door and Burny's were locked but they had a hell of a blizzard in Mark Henn's room as well as a couple of others. The studio management was not laughing at our early White Christmas but most thought it was pretty hilarious.

Warm watercolor, wrinkled paper and ink - Mike Peraza

As our own production was slowly winding down, screen acknowledgment always comes up. Instead of rolling credits, I wanted something special like the old title sequences we all enjoyed on film classics like "Song of the South", "Dumbo", "Peter Pan" and so many others. I mentioned it to Burny and showed him a mock-up I did of Jimminy Cricket on the candle stick with the title card and although he was interested he just wasn't sold on the idea.

Luckily a co-worker and utterly amazing story guy, Vance Gerry used to drop by my room to check up on me as he had requested me for the story department when I first came to the studio based on my reel at Cal Arts which was more story boards than animation. He got really excited about the little pencil sketches I had mocked up for the title sequence and the next day brought over some beautiful little ink sketches in the same vein he had done for some little Dicken's books to show me. Let me explain that Vance had his own printing press in those days and would hand out these beautiful little hand made books of selected works by Dickens for Christmas presents, of which I'm lucky to have a complete set courtesy of Vance. Vance then gave me a very special edition he had done that was reserved for retirees. I won't go into much detail about it here except to mention the long dark stairway and the small paper bag. Those of you who know what I'm talking about are probably cracking up right now.  Anyway Burny could hear us laughing next door and came over to see what we were doing and in no time, with Vance's support, Burny consented to let me do the title art. The only trouble doing titles I now faced was that the crew got wind of it and started coming down to see the pieces.

A Couple of Crickets

It would be flattering to believe they were wildly in love with my sketches but I soon realized there was most likely a stronger interest in seeing what their credit was, or if they even got one. It was then that I witnessed how disappointed some became when they they realize they were not going to get that animator credit they had hoped for. I have to say my wife Patty did quite a bit of great effects from snow gusts, fire, shadows etc. but was short at only 89 feet and you needed 100 to get the screen credit. She was a pro and took it like a er... woman but there were more than a few disenchanted crew members to put it mildly.  Those kinds of things though unpleasant  have always been and will always be a part of film production and is a very difficult decision for producers to contend with. 

1 of the unposed crew shots I snapped

I borrowed the Mickey in the top hat with scarf graphic so beautifully airbrushed by John Emerson, from our opening and made two ink and painted copies to have signed for a souvenir. One for Burny and one for me which the entire crew signed. When I made an iron -on and wore it to work (minus signatures) Burny and the crew flipped and we soon ordered golden crew shirts with the opening card graphic for everyone. The Disney Studio courtesy of Ron Miller, threw a wrap party for us that ended with an after hours feast in the Disney Coral Room next to the cafeteria. Everyone was wearing their golden crew T-shirts and it was a warm reunion to celebrate what we had all achieved together, not to mention the food was mighty tasty too. In the end it was a good experience made better by the talent and integrity of the entire crew, not the least was the man most responsible for the entire project, Burny Mattinson. "Mickey's Christmas Carol" was received enthusiastically at the box office when issued as a double bill in a re-release of "The Rescuers" which ironically also featured animation by then brand new "Mickey's Christmas Carol" alum animators Ed Gombert and Randy Cartwright.

One of the lost NBC "bumpers"

When the NBC network carried it in subsequent years, the studio contacted me through special Projects head Mark Sturdivant to create a dozen more title cards in the same sepia ink style I done for the original which was a treat for me. Mark was a pleasure to deal with as he was an unusual combination of creativity AND management. Yeah, you don't come across that animal often in what we laughingly refer to as the Entertainment Biz. I was in the middle of "Basil of Baker Street" pre-production at that point but would knock them out during lunch breaks. It was a joy getting re-acquainted with that special cast once again if only to design some more title cards. I used the same techniques, quick little blue sketches that I cleaned up to emulate the old printing style with my Montblanc fountain pens. I then sent them to Bill Brazner who supervised the Xerox Department in Ink and Paint and he would xerox them on cels to be shot over distressed warm watercolor boards I would sponge. They used these for what is referred to as "bumpers" in the business. These are the little title cards that in essence say to the home audience, "don't go away, we'll be right back after these messages." I included one of the dozen NBC bumper sketches I did, this particular one is the WIllie and company setup shown here with my instructions to Bill for slight enlargement on cel.  They don't use any of these second set of drawings I did  any longer as it was only for the network version and was never included in the DVD release nor are they likely to in the future so in essence I guess they are now considered lost. I made copies if they ever decide to reinstate them.

The Release Poster

Walt Disney Studios built up the fact that this was Mickey's first official return to the motion picture screen in 30 years. The Disney take on the Dicken's story was translated into comics, records, collectable figurines and if you happened to vists the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World last Christmas, simply gorgeous window displays.

SANTA (me) and our director (Burny) heading out.

After "The Black Cauldron",  we were the last Disney animated film to actually enjoy complete production in the old original animation studio in Burbank that Walt Disney had built with the profits of his classic "Snow White" so in hindsite it was made even more special for those of us that toiled for old Ebenezer. Even though we had been told the move to Glendale would be temporary and that we'd soon return to the original animation building, it never came about. The film went on to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Animated Short (pretty long short ), the first nomination for our Mickey since "Mickey and the Seal" in 1948. What has made it even more special like so many films we have been fortunate to work on is the happy looks one sees when some one brings up "Mickey's Christmas Carol." Over the years it has become a perennial  holiday favorite for families to gather around and enjoy with each new generation. To paraphrase Tiny Tim's last line, we were all blessed to have worked on this merry little ornament of a film, yes blessed every one. Merry Christmas!

Mickey's Xmas Carol, PART 2

Burny,  carefree Commander of Christmas Carol Capers

Most of the film was storyboarded with exquisite little charcoal sketches by Burny. I mean these were really little jewels that clearly told the story but did it with simple yet beautifully clear imagery. There have been outstanding story board artists in Disney studio over the years, the likes of Bill Pete, Joe Rinaldi and Ken Anderson come immediately to my mind. Well, I believe Burny could have held his own with that allstar team. He tried to find the best way to stage a story point and executed those attempts in a very eye-pleasing manner.

So he didn't really need any assistance in this department but he got a great pair of helping hands anyhow when Ed Gombert was brought on as one of the early artists to form our small crew. Ed was one of those renaissance dynamos who could do character design, storyboard and then guess what else? ... yep eventually animate the sections he had previously boarded. His Ratty and Moley were animated in a fine fashion that pleased Frank and Ollie (the original animators from the 1949 feature film). We really were in awe of Ed's ability and he wasn't the only outstanding teammate to climb onboard our ship. Another accomplished cohort was Glenn Keane who hardly needs any introduction to anyone who has followed Disney animation during the past couple decades, was also part of the animation staff along with veteran animator Dale Baer another genius with a pencil who had luckily just returned to the Disney Studio in time for our project. The "dream team" was rapidly taking shape.

Mark Henn Mickey Magic, Pencil Test to Final Scene 

The list went on with Sylvia Mattinson overseeing all the assistants and the final cleanup. Character animation was by the likes of Matt O'Callaghan, Toby Shelton, John Lasseter,  Dave Block portraying Ebenezer Scooge and Mark Henn who gave a stellar performance as Bob (Mickey) Cratchit .  The effects department was in good force with Ted Kiersey, Patty Peraza, Jack Boyd and Jeff Howard helping with the magical honors. Layout was ably handled by Sylvia Roemer and Gary Eggleston. The crew list goes on and on and one only has to watch the credits to see a "who's who" of future animation greats. I was like a little kid just chomping at the bit waiting for the animators to breathe life into the layout character drawings I left them with and they never disappointed as they delivered outstanding performances. As one animator turned in a scene with some fresh broad animation, the next guy would try to good naturally outdo it with ever broader stuff on his. This made for quite a change from the straighter toon we had all marched to on previous films.

Alan, the perfect voice for Scrooge

Voices were expertly cast by Burny and starred Alan Young as the miserly Scrooge. In person he was anything but the sour old miser but he delivered such a good job on "Christmas Carol",  that Gary made sure to bring him back a few years later when we created "DuckTales" for Disney Television so I had the good fortune to work with Alan on both projects. Mickey of course had originally been given voice by Walt Disney and later Jimmy MacDonanld who was a sound effects genius and funny guy with a joke. Jimmy passed the baton to Wayne Allwine in the late 1970s,  who balanced the midget mystro perfectly with Alan's performance. On a very poignant  note it was the last time Clarence Nash did Donald Duck which he of course had originated in 1934 in the short, "The Wise Little Hen". Ducky even brought that cool custom Donald Duck ventriloquist dummy to the recording studio with him one day just to give us a kick, which it certainly did. Mentioning voice talents, If you have an incredible ear you can also make out  Glenn Keane, John Lassetter, Mike Peraza, Mark Henn, Patty Peraza, and Randy Cartwright doing background vocal noise called, "walla-wallas" in a few of the crowd scenes. Bravo, what magnificent voices! Of course now you understand why we didn't rate our own song.

The Baers,1st day of Strike

Now don't believe that every second was laughs as we had some bumps in the road during production, doesn't every film? Run-a-way production was one of the issues our animation union local deemed a threat although at the time it seemed to affect mainly the Ink and Paint department. The work day was barely getting under way at the studio when the Disney animation staff was herded into the Disney theater and told by head of Animation Ed Hansen that our union had decided to strike and we all had to pack up our belongings and leave. It was a shock for most of us and a sad event I believe for both sides but within the hour we were all leaving the house of mouse. Union officials were ready and handed each of us an illustrated picket sign to call our own as we left the studio that morning. I'll go into the strike in a later blog in detail and with plenty of pictures I took from the first day as we all gathered our belongings through to the last, including parties, picket lines, union meetings and fist fights.

Patty, Tim and Don hit the pavement

During the making of an animated film there will invariably be time when someone thinks an action is too broad while another animator may think it hasn't gone far enough.

Our "Ghost of Christmas Present" was realized by Willie, the giant who resided in Walt Disney's animated feature "Fun and Fancy Free". Glenn may have used the Giant as the basis of the form but he told me while animating him that he based the movement and lovable curiosity on his then 18 month old baby. (Must have been very big for his size ). Anyway studio animation had been limited in executing broad actions during Fox and Cauldron so with Carol, Glenn could flex his considerable animation talent for expressing expansive energized images.

Glenn Keane, Talent Extraordinaire

Glenn Keane's animation of the roof stretching and snapping like it was rubber as Willie steps out received  a heated discussion from some who felt it was over the top and too broad and others who felt it was perfect for the business. Glenn did what animators should always do, plus what you are given. Of course in times like this, the director will act as referee and decide what is correct for the film. In addition to Glenn's expressive animation, Dale Baer was creating wonderfully dramatic animation with Pete in the graveyard. Here I was able to add a few story and staging ideas. I did some quick charcoal sketches where he started out as a silhouette and was then lit by the cigar to add some dramatic and creepy under lighting to his performance. Burney loved it and used the concept in his story boards. Even that piece of business came under scrutiny when objections were voiced over having a Disney character smoke on screen. Seriously, it was almost cut!  Shessh! I mean come on, hadn't they even watched Cruella De'Ville, or even Captain Hook take a puff for evil's sake? 

Concept art for "Ghost of Christmas Present"

When you work on animated films you may hear the same lines hundreds of times before the film is in the can and released. Years later you'll find yourself reciting dialog from a film you worked on when someone cues a certain word or phrase. This can result in some lines not ripening well over time in one's mind and others perhaps even rotting on the line, er vine. When Daisy speaks to a young Scrooge at the dance he ends the conversation with "...you're also standing on my foot!"  Burny would crack up. I thought it was just mildly funny and a couple others didn't give the line even that much credit. Eventually a few of us mentioned how we thought the line fell flat. Burny didn't agree and kept it in. The more we teased him about it, the deeper he was entrenched with that line.

Disney Theater Burbank Main Lot 

Eventually we held our first ARI in the Disney theater which is a closed screening to check audience reaction to a work in progress. This was our big chance, or so we thought. Ed Gombert, Randy Cartwright and I had all bought these little devices called Laugh Boxes. It was kind of a rage back then, you know, like the "burning babies" toys so many of us played with "on break". The Laugh Boxes were battery operated and when you pressed the button a chessy laugh erupted that would almost always domino into more laughter. We were at the ready in the back row. Wait for it... wait for it... here comes the line... press the buttons! For a split second it was completely quiet then the entire theater erupted in howling laughter after hearing our sqawking electronic guffaws. Safe to say we hadn't thought it through for upon returning to Burny's room after the screening we were told," Well that line got the biggest laugh of the entire film, so I don't want to hear anymore about cutting it! " Opps. As they say, " the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. " Actually fitting all that Dickens material into a 26 minute format isn't easy although many have tried. All in all, the dialogue was tweaked well for the unique Disney characters brought in to perform the classic roles and Burny picked, chose and re-wrote the lines with great care keeping true to the Dickens flavor of the story as well as to the Disney characters now inheriting those memorable roles.