24fps: An Animation Blog

Canemaker, John (2001).  Walt Disney's Nine Old Men Disney Edition      Marc Davis knew that he had a gift for dramatic storytelling at a young age. Following in his father’s footsteps, he sought to entertain and entrance. Davis’s father, Harry A. Davis, who performed a “black magic” act was a consummate showman. Harry Davis was a brilliant man who could speak ten languages, was a magician, a musician, and a watchmaker, amongst other skills. Eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, Marc decided to pursue a higher education in the arts. Harry knew that his son had storytelling skills, but instead of putting him in a performing arts school, he wanted him to work at a pool hall, to “learn about life”. Because his father was rarely happy in one profession for long, Marc and his family moved around a lot. He never stayed anywhere long enough to gain any true or lasting friendships, so he had to occupy his time in other ways, often carrying around a sketchbook. Davis lov...

      Disney Studios housed one of the most revered creative groups in our industry history, the fabled Nine Old Men. These were a group of animators, directors, and supervisors that Walt held in the highest esteem in his studio. Most animation enthusiasts know names in this group like, Milt Kahl, Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston. However, a name that is often overlooked, is the man behind some of the best offerings ever to come out of the studio, Les Clark     Les Clark started at Disney Studios before reverence was behind the name, they were like any other small animation studio that produced 5-6 minute shorts. Mostly these were silly characters getting into  trouble, and the occasional music number like Skeleton Dance .     These musical numbers required more than simple gags, and snappy timing, they required dance numbers to a musical beat, and that's where Les Clark shined. He was known around the studio for having an excel...

Many simply refer to this era as the Disney Renaissance, but what did that mean ultimately? The eighties were not a creative or financially successful period for the Disney studios. They released a series of artistically uninspired films, culminating in the dark and confusing Black Cauldron. It was a mess in production from beginning to end, leaving most artists yearning for the glory days of Disney in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Most artists working in the studio went to Disney after growing up with films like The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmations, and Cinderella, true animation marvels. Not they were producing films that had narratives that barely made sense, and were ultimately ugly. Gone were the days of bright and color palettes dancing behind wholesome characters the audience could root for. In an effort to overtake the new kid in town, Don Bluth Animation, Disney was trying to be edgy and dark, with a studio full of artists that didn't want to make that. So what changed? The management...