As I grew older I found myself becoming more and more interested in Disney History. As a child I loved watching movies, but now I became interested in how they were made. Sarah Sterling on Youtube really sparked that interest. She started a series called Down to Disness where she talks about Disney movie history and its impact on pop culture. To watch click here. I found from researching quite a bit, that Disney really set the bar for what is the film industry today. Animation is relatively new which is something I had never really thought about. Of course in this entry I can't touch on every Disney movie ever (although I'd love to). Some of these might be ones you don't particularly like, but every movie on this list bettered the Disney company to make quality movies to this day. The first one obviously being the classic Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. Snow White opened December 2, 1937 at the Carthay Circle theatre in Los Angeles. It was the first full-length animated feature in history and grossed over $18 million in the US. It costed around $1.4 million to make and more than 750 artists worked on the film in the 3 years it was in production. It was also noted as the first movie ever to have a full length feature soundtrack. One thing Snow White and The Seven Dwarves did was start a trend that followed in lots of Disney movies after; having the supporting role play a bigger part than the protagonist itself. In this case, it was the dwarves. Snow White was the second Disney animated film to use the multi-plane camera. It was an invention Disney Studios created that allowed animation cells to show more depth. Two dimensional paintings, which were traditional with animation, could not achieve the illusion of traveling forward in a landscape realistically. This changed the game forever. They started using this effect in many years to come in such films as, Pinocchio and Bambi. It became a key asset in establishing a more believable space for the incredible artwork and character design produced by Disney. As humans and animals became more naturalistic and scenery became increasingly detailed, the multi-plane camera helped to create a more believable world for these objects and characters to inhabit. Another cool trend the movie set for the animation industry was the use of models to set human animation after. The model for Snow White was Marge Champion, a really talented dancer. She would come into the studio to dance and act out scenes. The animators would sit in a circle around her and draw her movements to then animate. This trend also continued into movies like Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. These are called live action models! Snow White won tons of awards including an Oscar, in which Walt Disney was . presented with one normal size Oscar and 7 little ones. This film was really the kickstart of the Walt Disney Animation Studios career. The Disney company continued to use hand-drawn animation with the multi-plane camera for another 40 years. Producing movies such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, and many many more which did pretty well in the box offices. The next big animation growth at the company was the film Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, produced in 1988. Personally, I feel this is a very underrated movie. I love it so much, and I don't think it gets the recognition it deserves. The Disney company at this time had been very interested in live-action and not so much animation anymore. In fact, there was a realistic fear that the Disney company would become strictly live- action with a complete halt in animation forever. This movie combined both, animation and live-action. They tested this out a bit in Mary Poppins when the penguins danced with Burt and Mary. This happened to be the first full-length film to combine these two mediums. Set in Hollywood during the late 1940's, this story is an alternative timeline where animated characters really exist. The film tells the story of Eddie Valiant, a private detective who must exonerate tune character Rodger Rabbit, who is accused of murdering a wealthy businessman. The original budget for this project was $50 million, which at the time was too expensive for the company. So, they put it off until 1985, and it finally went into production in 1987 with a budget of $30 million. At the time this was still the most expensive Disney movie ever made. The Disney Company was convinced this hybrid of live-action and animation would save Disney's animation department. Vista Vision cameras installed with motion technology were used for the photography of the live-action scenes, which would then be combined with the animation. Rubber statues of Rodger Rabbit and other characters were used to portray the animation during rehearsals in order to teach the actors where to look when acting with open air. Many of the live action props that were held by cartoon characters were shot with robotic arms or manipulated by strings.
Because this film was made before computer animation, all of the animation was done using cells and optical compositing. First, animators were given black and white print outs of the action scenes known as photo stats.
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AuthorHi my name is Molly Carl! I have great passion and love for Disney and love showing others its magic. When I'm not thinking about Disney I'm performing on stage creating an entirely different type of magic! In addition to Disney I love coffee, tea, plants, musicals, and art! Categories
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Wonderland Wishes is not affiliated with the Walt Disney company or any other Disney blogger/influencer. All photos not under the photo gallery tab are not mine. Credit goes to original owners.
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