“You knew that every ounce of energy put into it, you were going to get it back in the theaters.” – Zach Parrish Wreck-it Ralph comes out this week in America and it got me thinking that I should do some sort of lead-in to it. Everyone in this podcast also animated on Wreck-it Ralph, but in a completely different way and it’s fascinating to me to follow that progress. So I dug up this recording I made on April 14, 2011. It’s been a long while, but most of the gang’s all here for your listening pleasure. I wasn’t… Read more: Show 32 – The “Unofficial” Tangled Animators’ Audio Commentary
“You learn everything from every production that you’re on, even if it’s, you know, a commercial that lasts three weeks. You learn something from it.” It’s finally here – my exclusive podcast for Animation Mentor! It marks a few firsts: my first podcast in over a year; my first roundtable with five guests; my first women guests! Since this is an exclusive, you’ll need to head over to Animation Mentor to listen and download the show. My focus for this show was to grab five artists at Disney who recently went through the Talent Development Program at Disney and talk… Read more: Show 31 – Disney Talent Development Alumni
“I like to draw everything that has a sense of give to it, and a sense of life, and everything that will support the idea of the pose and then build the anatomy on top.” The interview concludes in Part Two where Eric Goldberg shares his extensive knowledge and appreciation for animating as he talks about many of the projects he has directed including Pocahontas, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Monkey’s Tale while the conversation continues to touch down on the details of the craft of animation. Eric is currently animating on the upcoming film The Princess and the Frog.… Read more: Show 030 – Eric Goldberg, Part Two
“So much can be expressed through a walk, you know. I think that’s one of the things that a lot of animators don’t do these days, is actually crack the walk so that it actually says something about the character.” Eric Goldberg is one of the most admired animators working today. After years of developing his craft in the commercial business in London, he exploded on the feature animation scene with the Genie in Aladdin. After that, he co-directed Pocahontas and later directed two classic sequences from Fantasia 2000 – Rhapsody in Blue and Carnival of the Animals. Eric was… Read more: Show 029 – Eric Goldberg, Part One
“It’s really great trying something out and then seeing how people react and if they don’t kind of react the way you think they should, it’s wise to be honest with yourself and try to analyze the work.” Ken Duncan owns Duncan Studio in Pasadena, CA. Before that he animated Meg in Hercules, Jane in Tarzan, Capt. Amelia and Scroop in Treasure Planet, and he served as a sequence supervisor on Dreamworks’ Sharktale. In this final part of the interview, Ken shares more of his experiences on Hercules and Tarzan as well as futher insights in to his approaches to… Read more: Show 028 – Ken Duncan, Part Three
“To me it’s not about moving stuff around. It’s about thinking about a personality within a story.” The conversation with Ken Duncan continues. In this second part of the interview, Ken talks about some of the his earlier films at Disney. Then the conversation focuses on his personal approaches to acting and his general workflow for animating productively. Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…
“That to me is one of the funnest things about animation; is experimentation. And that’s…that’s the spirit of animation.” Ken Duncan has served as a supervising animator on four Disney films. His characters include Thomas (Pocahontas), Meg (Hercules), Jane (Tarzan), Captain Amelia and Scroop (Treasure Planet). Ken was also a sequence supervisor on Dreamworks’ Sharktale. He currently is running his own studio, Duncan Studio, based in Pasadena, California. This is part one of the interview. Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…
“It’s still really intriguing for me to see the trick happen, to see things come to life. That has not got boring.” The interview concludes with part three as James Baxter talks about learning from the old masters, what inspires him, and his experiences on films from Beauty and the Beast through Madagascar. James was the supervising animator of Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Spirit, and director of the animation for Enchanted. This is part three of a three part interview. Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…
“That’s probably the hardest part, I think, is to be able to capture that lightening in a bottle and, you know, to be able to take that moment of inspiration and for the next week or two weeks maintain that spontaneity.” Part two of the interview continues with James Baxter, supervising animator of Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Spirit, and director of the animation for Enchanted. The conversation goes in to deeper detail regarding the technical aspects and processes James applies to his animation and acting – a must-listen for any animators looking to improve their workflow and craft. This is part… Read more: Show 024 – James Baxter, Part Two
“I think the thing that came to me quickest was probably the understanding of how things move… It took me a lot longer to try and conquer things like good communication and character and drawing and expressions and acting and the really important stuff.” James Baxter is one of the most talented animators working today. As a supervising animator at Disney and Dreamworks some of the characters he brought to life include Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Moses, and Spirit. On the CG side, he also served as a supervising animator on Shrek 2 and Madagascar. James’ latest work was creating all… Read more: Show 023 – James Baxter, Part One
“When things get down and people get scared and they get nervous, are they’re running around, like, saying, ‘What’s happening? The world’s coming to an end,’ it’s just part of the – that wierdness of this business.” Dale Baer came to Disney’s as an animation trainee in the late sixties, when the era of the Nine Old Men was coming to a close. He has worked for Filmation, Disney, Ralph Bakshi, and at his own studio, Baer Animation. Dale has been back at Walt Disney Animation Studios since The Emperor’s New Groove and his credits include supervising the characters of… Read more: Show 022 – Dale Baer, Part Two
“It was like going to Mount Olympus and meeting the Gods. It really was. And I was scared to death.” Dale Baer came to Disney’s as an animation trainee in the late sixties, when the era of the Nine Old Men was coming to a close. He has worked for Filmation, Disney, Ralph Bakshi, and at his own studio, Baer Animation. Dale has been back at Walt Disney Animation Studios since The Emperor’s New Groove and his credits include supervising the characters of Yzma, Slim from Home on the Range, and Wilbur from Meet the Robinsons. Dale recently finished animating… Read more: Show 021 – Dale Baer, Part One
“I’m proud that we’re leaving a trail of inspiration, instead of desolation.” For over 50 years, Ray Harryhausen single-handedly animated the most captivating stop-motion creatures in movies such as Mighty Joe Young, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, Jason and the Argonauts, and of course, Clash of the Titans. He’s an animation legend and inspiration to countless animators and filmmakers the world over. This is a one part interview. Continue for Show Notes and audio file download links…
“And Joe always told me, he said, ‘Burny, keep drawing. Keep drawing. You know, because that’s where your ideas are all gonna come from.’” In the fourth and final part of his interview, Burny Mattinson leads us through Disney’s second golden age of animation. He talks about his work on various films inlcuding Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Mulan, and he shares some great advice on story idea generation and pitching. Burny has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios for close to 55 years as an animator, story artist, director, and producer. Continue for Show Notes and audio file… Read more: Show 019 – Burny Mattinson, Part Four
In part three, Burny Mattinson continues the conversation on his amazing career, from Mickey’s Christmas Carol, to the arrival of the Eisner era, through storyboarding on Beauty and The Beast. Burny has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios for close to 55 years as an animator, story artist, director, and producer. Get the MP3 here: Show 18: Burny Mattinson, Part Three (23.4MB, 51:05 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
Burny Mattinson has worked at Disney Animation for well over 50 years on such titles as Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan. In part two, Burny describes his transition from his short lived career as a full-fledged animator to a story artist and then to director. He also tells about the transition the studio made from Walt to the twilight of the careers of the Nine Old Men to the development of newer talent that has led the studio through the… Read more: Show 017 – Burny Mattinson, Part Two
Burny Mattinson is the only person I know who started working at Disney Animation when Walt was alive, and has been there since. Here’s a SHORT list of films he has worked on: Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan. Burny is a talented draughtsman, animator, illustrator, story man, producer, and director with first-hand stories and insights to share with us from his career which spans over fifty years. In part one, Burny recounts how he came to work at the Walt… Read more: Show 016 – Burny Mattinson, Part One
Supervising animator of Ariel, The Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, John Silver and director of the upcoming film Rapunzel. In part two of the interview Glen talks about being trained under Ollie Johnston and some of the artistic struggles and realizations during his career. Get the MP3 here: Show 15: Glen Keane, Part Two (16.3MB, 35:27 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
Ariel, The Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, John Silver. The list should say it all. Animation hero to many, Glen Keane has created many of the most memorable characters in modern animation with performances that rival those of any flesh and blood actor. In part one, Glen talks about being an artist, discovering animation, and his first years at the Disney studio. Get the MP3 here: Show 14: Glen Keane, Part One (15.1MB, 32:47 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
Conclusion of a Milt Kahl lecture at CalArts from 1976, generously donated by John Musker. Milt answers questions from students, including Brad Bird. Side two of two. Get the MP3 here: Show 13: Vault – Milt Kahl, Side Two (16.3MB, 33:01 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
A Milt Kahl lecture at CalArts from 1976, generously donated by John Musker. Milt discusses a rough cut of some of his work on Medusa in “The Rescuers.” Side one of two. The discussion is similar to some of the audio made available at Seward Street. If you haven’t listened to that yet, be sure to check it out. Get the MP3 here: Show 12: Vault – Milt Kahl, Side One (14.1MB, 30:49 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
Conclusion of my interview with Eamonn Butler (he’s the one in the tux), Animation Supervisor on the films “Chicken Little” and “Reign of Fire.” Eamonn talks about how he approached many aspects of animation on “Chicken Little.” Part two of two. Get the MP3 here: Show 11: Eamonn Butler, Part Two (20.2MB, 43:59 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
Interview with Eamonn Butler (he’s the one in the tux), Animation Supervisor on the films “Chicken Little” and “Reign of Fire.” Eamonn recalls his animation career from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” through “Chicken Little.” Part one of two. Get the MP3 here: Show 10: Eamonn Butler, Part One (17.5MB, 38:06 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
In part three, directors and writers Ron Clements and John Musker describe their writing process as well as developing The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Get the MP3 here: Show 9: Ron and John, Part Three (11.9MB, 25:27 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
In part two, directors and writers Ron Clements and John Musker detail how they made the transition from animating to the story department to directing. Something interesting in this one: in Part Two, Ron & John talk about the days when Michael Eisner arrived at Disney. It’s a coincidence that today Eisner is giving his going away speech on the studio lot. Get it here: Show 8: Ron and John, Part Two (12.1MB, 26:16 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet Ever seen one of these movies? In part one of the interview, directors and writers Ron Clements and John Musker talk about getting in to Disney in the seventies, the first year of Cal Arts, and working under Frank Thomas and Cliff Nordberg. This will be a brief detour from the Nik Ranieri series since today marks the first day that Ron and John no longer work at Disney. After 32 years for Ron and 28 years for John, there’s a big hole in the heart of the feature… Read more: Show 007 – Ron and John, Part One
In part three Nik Ranieri shares his experiences working on his first feature film for Disney, Roger Rabbitt. Get it here: Show 6: Nik Ranieri, Part Three (19.6MB, 42:46 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
In part two of the interview Nik Ranieri takes us through his early years in animation and some of the lessons learned before he got to Disney. Get it here: Show 5: Nik Ranieri, Part Two (13.1MB, 28:33 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
The Animation Podcast returns with a Canadian invasion! Here’s part one (of many more) with Nik Ranieri. Nik tells us about going to Sheridan to learn animation and what good animation means to him. Get it here: Show 4: Nik Ranieri, Part One (11.1MB, 32:15 minutes)
It’s Deja vu all over again. The last installment of my first (but hopefully not the last) meeting with Andreas Deja is here. Hear his thoughts on his own work, as well as his friendship with animation legend Milt Kahl. CORRECTION: At the end I say meant to say, “This conlcudes Part Three,” not part Two. Andreas’ German threw me off my game. Get it here: Show 3: Andreas Deja, Part Three (16MB, 23:19 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
The conversation with Andreas Deja continues. In part two Andreas recounts his first years at Disney including working with Tim Burton on The Black Cauldron and Richard Williams on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Get it here: Show 2: Andreas Deja, Part Two (11.9MB, 17:16 minutes) Continue for Show Notes…
It’s here, it’s here! Over a month of preparation finally pays off and I’m so happy to present the first show featuring superstar animator Andreas Deja. In part one Andreas takes us through his discovery of animation from a small town in Germany to the Disney Animation building in Burbank. Check back for part two to hear more about Eric Larson, Tim Burton, and The Black Cauldron. EDIT FOR CLARITY: Some people took the preceding sentence to be a list of future interviews. I assure you that Eric Larson will not be talking to anyone anytime soon. These are topics… Read more: Show 001 – Andreas Deja, Part One
