Wondering how the Golden Era of Disney managed to look so good? Let Walt Disney himself break it down for you, in a wonderful memo from 1935 to Don Graham, the man tasked with teaching Disney’s animators how to reach the desired standard, filled with comments like this:
The point must be made clear to the men that our study of the actual is not so that we may be able to accomplish the actual, but so that we may have a basis upon which to go into the fantastic, the unreal, the imaginative – and yet to let it have a foundation of fact, in order that it may more richly possess sincerity and contact with the public.
Somewhere, I hope, today’s animators have these comments pinned up on their walls to remind them of the basics.
If the animators get the groundwork right, that is, the action underneath all these trimmings right – then what they add is going to be twice as effective. It’s a very important point that we must impress on the new men and the older men.
As a fan of well-done animation, I’m always impressed by the work and skill that goes into the process. Nonetheless, there’s something oddly comforting about Disney’s down-to-earth attitude towards making sure all of his cartoonists know how to do it well:
I am convinced that there is a scientific approach to this business, and I think we shouldn’t give up until we have found out all we can about how to teach these young fellows the business.
(These days, of course, it seems as if the Disney Corporation would rather buy talent than ask its employees to learn to do things better.)
More On Techland:
Disney Loves Star Wars, Throws ‘Last Tour to Endor’ Bash in August
Exclusive Clip: Toy Story 3, In Which Drooling Toddlers Snort Mr. Potato Head