Major Blog Post 6-Walt Disney Animation Studio

Posted on by Wendy Kong

After the production of Steamboat Willie in 1928, more space was needed for the increase of workers so Walt Disney decided to expand the building. The succeed of using sound in Steamboated Willie made Disney’s foremost animation studio in Burbank California. Then they produced the Silly Symphony series including The Skeleton Dance(1929), Flowers and Tree (1932) and Three Little Pigs(1932). Flower and Tree was their first cartoon in color. We can see when Walt Disney entered the field he did not get immediate success. I was quite surprised by how he maintains his business with limited workers and a tight budget after his company was stolen by the producer of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. However, Disney once said, “I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn’t know how to get along without it.” I believe Walt Disney’s talent in storytelling and his passion for animation are the keys to his success. The studio went from Steamboat Willie to The elegant and sparkling beauty of Snow White in ten years. I love the character design of the Seven Dwarfs in Snow White because it conveys the personalities of each Dwarf. Dopey and Grumpy are my Favourite. I also love to sing “Heigh-Ho” while I was hiking with my friends!!!

Character Sheet of Dopey.
Character Sheet of Grumpy.
Heigh Ho- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Wendy Kong

Major Blog Post 5: Walt Disney- Early Life

Posted on by Wendy Kong

In this class, we studied the life of  Walt Disney, who was an animator, storyteller, film maker and entrepreneur. Disney’s interest in drawing grew when he was a child. He started as an illustrator for commercials in Kansas City where he met his best friend Ub Iwerks. They both had a passion for making their original animation. After a few times of failures, Disney began producing Alice’s Wonderland, combing live-action with animation in Laugh-O-Gram Studio. From there, we can see that Disney has a passion to work on fairytales and classical stories. Alice’s Wonderland was a big success so Disney invited his friend Iwerks to Los Angels.

Good days didn’t last long for them. After they created another successful character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927, it was stolen by their producer Charles Mintz. I felt very sad for Disney and Iwerks as their creativity was stolen. At the same time, I also respect their spirit of not giving up.

To replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, they created Micky Mouse together. An employee said that “Ub designed Mickey’s physical appearance, but Walt gave him his soul.” Plane Crazy (1928) was the first appearance of Micky Mouse. Even though it was a silent film, I found it so interesting as it had tones of dynamic shots. Steamboat Willie (1928) which we might see it at the beginning of some of Disney’s famous animation, was the first Disney cartoon with sound and music. I love how the characters were moving with the beat perfectly. It soon became the most popular animation of its day. 

I’m sharing another old Mickey Mouse cartoon called Giantland (1933). Enjoy!! ^o^

Wendy Kong

Major Blog Post 4: Cut Out Animation-The Idea (1932)

Posted on by Wendy Kong

We looked at a few cut out animations in for this class. Out of all the animations we watched, The Idea (1932) by Berthold Bartosch impressed me the most. The Idea (1932) is the first poetic and tragic work in animation which shared an anti-capitalist idea. Berthold Bartosch used several layers of rice paper to create a mysterious effect and a sense of depth for the whole film. At the same time, he also used lather spread on the glass plates and lit from behind to create a halo, smoke effect. I am impressed by how he used different experimental techniques to enhance the mood of the animation. I can’t imagine how he pulled this 25 minutes film all out by paper cutting.

I also love the story of The Idea a lot. The naked woman was hinting the idea of anti-capitalist. She terrified authorities as she heads out into the street without clothes on. A man was executed because he stood up for her. At last, she sparks a workers ‘ revolution caused by the violent suppression by big business. The meaningful story matched with the visual style and music of the animation which I think is very unique and successful for cutout animations at that time. I enjoyed watching it a lot.

Image result for the idea 1932
The Idea (1932) 

Wendy Kong

Major Blog Post 3: Max & Dave Fleischer

Posted on by Wendy Kong

Max & Dave Fleischer is Walt Disney Animation Studio’s very first competitor in 1930s. Some of their most recognizable characters are Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Bimbo, Popeye the Sailor. We watch animations of all of this character during class. I think Bimbo’s Initiation (1931) is funny and the ending is quite surprising as Bimbo said yes to a thing that he resisted a lot after he saw Betty Boop. The design of Betty Boop is sexy and unique. I did a little research on her, it said she “combing in appearance the childish with the sophisticated—a large round baby face with big eyes and a nose like a button, framed in a somewhat careful coiffure, with a very small body of which perhaps the leading characteristic is the most self-confident little bust imaginable”. I like the Snow White (1933) played by her because her personality stands out a lot. When I was a kid, I used to watch Popeye the Sailor every day. I love how he gets strength from eating spinach and beat the big guy. I am sharing a clip from Popeye the Sailor. Hope you guys will enjoy it!!

Wendy Kong

Major Blog Post 2: Felix the Cat

Posted on by Wendy Kong

For class three, Professor talked about Felix the Cat which is one of the most famous characters in the early age. He is created by Pat Sullivan and Otto Mesmer in 1919. We watched a few animations of Felix the Cat in Class including Felix Pitches the Pole, Feline Follies and Felix in the Hollywood. I enjoyed all of them very much but my favourite one is Felix in the Hollywood because it is hilarious, and the actions of Felix is so dynamic. I can understand why Felix the Cat became a mascot or even a popular icon. His design is simple and cute, his personality is clearly shown through the animation. I love how he did silly stuffs, but it was effective and helpful to the situation like how he put the gums on the road to trick passenger to buy new shoes. I also love he is mischievous but good hearted at the same time. Felix the Cat is a big success of Pat Sullivan and Otto Mesmer. I wish I can go to Felix Chevrolet one day to purchase his merchandises. (I bought a box of gums with Felix the Cat packaging when I was in Japan last year accidentally. )

End with a Felix the Cat I drew in class. (\^^/)

Wendy Kong

Major Post 1: Origin of Animation

Posted on by Wendy Kong

I bought a few art books of the Walt Disney Animation Studio such as The Illusion of Life. I never read it because there’s lots of content about the history of animation which I think it might be boring. I always love animation but I never wonder how does it exist. And how it develops to the animation we see today. However, studying in this class widen my horizons. I learnt that animation is the concept of persistence of vision which means our eyes seeing moving sequences of image. The Optical theatre that Emile Reynaud created in 1888 amazed me. It required a long band containing 500 hand painted slides drawn on a transparent gelatin in a large wheel, and rotating at the same speed as the 36 mirrors. It took a hard work to make it. I am really thankful for animator in the past because their hard works and patience built the future of animation.

My favourite animation that we watched in class is the Bigger Picture created by Daisy Jacobs in 2014. Big Bang Big Boom is a successful work as the animation is so smooth, however, I am a bit confused and shock by the story. 

Wendy Kong

Pre-quarter assignment

Posted on by Wendy Kong

My favorite illustrator is Claire Keane, who is also an animator and visual development artist. Her father Glen Keane is one of the most well-known animators that worked at many of the Disney classics such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

Claire worked on the designed for Tangled, Frozen, and Enchanted for Disney. I fell in love with her drawings and style since I saw her works from The Art of Tangled. She always did some sketchy designs but it looks awesome and magical. She can also paint characters or background with tones of details and dynamic value. When she was working on tangled, she kept a journal of things she did at home and translated it into Rapunzel’s world . I love what she did with it because it made Rapunzel so much more believable and cute. I also admire how she makes use of colors to make everything so magical.

Here are some of her works: