Walt Disney Animation

Information

• Animation historians love to say "It all started with a mouse". In fact it actually began with a visionary named Walt Disney.

• From the early years in Kansas City with the likes of Ub Iwerks, Hugh Harmon and Rudy Ising. Walt Disney went on to become the single most important man in the history of animation. His legacy is a absolute who's who of animated characters; Snow White, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Alice, Bambi, Cinderella, and of course, Mickey Mouse.

Animated Characters

The Process of Animation

1. A storyboard is made, all the animators and directors come together to discuss the entire film.

2. The storyboards are presented as the story

3. Once the story is laid out, the dialogue is recorded. This is done before animation, so the animators know what the characters will say.

4. After the dialogue is recorded, the animators can make rough sketches of just the characters. Usually these drawings are quite messy, there is still no color, or background. Some animated films have used over 50,000 individual drawings.

The Process of Animation

At most animation studios, the best animators only sketched a few animation drawings, leaving gaps in between. Later on, a person called an "inbetweener" would finish the scenes, by drawing in between the areas that the animator had left.

The Process of Animation

5. Once the entire film has been drawn on paper, the animation drawings go to the inking department. There, the inkers copy the animation drawings on to a clear celluloid acetate, sometimes called a Cel.

6. After the outline of the characters has been made, the unfinished Cel's go to the Painting Department. The painters flip the Cel over, and paint the colors on the back. They paint on the back so the characters appear crisp, and have an outline.

The Process of Animation

7. Before the Animation Cels get photographed a background must be added. Because a Cel is clear, and it only has the painted character on it, if a background is made, it will show through. Usually backgrounds are painted with Tempera or Water Color paint. Although, in some Disney productions, the background was painted on glass, and combined with other glass painted backgrounds to create the illusion of extreme movement. (This technique is use in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.)

The Process of Animation

8. Now all the combined elements (the Cel and the background) can be photographed. Although, the final product is not filmed with a normal projector, or camera. A special device, with a lens mounted facing down on to a table top captures each frame of the animated feature. Usually, the background is placed into a special mount, then covered with the Cel, then covered with a large piece of glass, then photographed.

The Process of Animation

The Process of Animation

9. After all the drawings have been filmed, the dialogue is added. Sometimes the film is edited at this step.

10. The animated film is released, and the general public may view it.

The Process of Animation

Walt Disney Studio

Located in Burbank, California, Walt Disney Animation Studios brings imagination to life through traditional and computer animated films.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937. 2. Pinocchio, 1940. 3. Fantasia, 1940. 4. Dumbo, 1941. 5. Bambi, 1942. 6. Saludos Amigos, 1943. 7. The Three Caballeros, 1945. 8. Make Mine Music, 1946. 9. Fun and Fancy Free, 1947. 10. Melody Time, 1948. 11. The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad, 1949. 12. Cinderella, 1950. 13. Alice In Wonderland, 1951. 14. Peter Pan, 1953.

Walt Disney Full Length Animated Features

15. Lady And The Tramp, 1955. 16. Sleeping Beauty, 1959. 17. 101 Dalmations, 1961. 18. The Sword And The Stone, 1963. 19. The Jungle Book, 1967. 20. The Aristocats, 1970. 21. Robin Hood, 1973. 22. The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, 1977. 23. The Rescuers, 1977. 24. The Fox And The Hound, 1981. 25. The Black Cauldron, 1985. 26. The Great Mouse Detective, 1986. 27. Oliver & Company, 1988. 28. The Little Mermaid, 1989.

After The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney Productions switched from hand drawing and painting their animation to a new computerized system, called "CAPS,"which stands for Computerized Animation Production System.

29. The Rescuers Down Under, 1990.

30. Beauty And The Beast, 1991. 31. Aladdin, 1992. 32. The Lion King, 1994. 33. Pocahontas, 1995. 34. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, 1996. 35. Hercules, 1997. 36. Mulan, 1998. 37. Tarzan, 1999.

Computerized Animated Films

http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html

Click on the link below to view a list of all Disney animated movies.

http://www.disneymovieslist.com/animated-disney-movies.asp

Computerized Animated Films

http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html