Harry here with one AICNer's trip inside the animation machine in Orlando. This is actually something all of us can do... IF we find ourselves at those locations. SOOOO... If you read this... and want to see these things... well they are there... waiting to be seen. If you've recently been on this same tour and think you saw some different or 'cooler' stuff, post it in TALK BACK below... okeydokee? Groovy.
Hi, Harry. I once gave you some info on "A Civil Action", but now I've just returned from the Happiest Place On Earth. Well, the east coast version, anyway. That's right. Orlando, FL and Disney World!
In the Disney-MGM Studios park, there is a brief presentation on the making of animated films, and afterward you get to see inside Disney's Florida animation studios. In most cases, the pictures I saw came from Tarzan, and the viewing areas are designed so what is probably the best "sneak previews" are not visible. Still, I figured I'd give you some info that you may not already have:
TARZAN - well, there were a lot of sketches and storyboards in view, and some of the art I've seen on the 'net so far was on display. They did have up collages of some of the characters. In addition to Tarzan, Jane and the apes, I saw two characters I haven't heard about yet. The first was named "Clayton". He's a lantern-jawed, barrel-chested guy in a "Great White Hunter" outfit without the safari hat. He's got a dark mustache and is most certainly the stereotypical arrogant British hunter. I assume he's the villain. Another character was "Porter". He's a thin, older man with a bushy white mustache. His pictures seem to show he's a nice guy, but he may be one of Clayton's sidekicks. You know, one of those villains who's not so bad. Again, it's tough to tell from still photos. I also glimpsed a bit of animation on a loop on a video screen. It showed a chubby elephant wading into the water in a jungle setting. The last interesting still picture I saw showed a small safari boat carrying Clayton and others. They were apparently leaving an old steamship seen off in the distance.
FANTASIA 2000 - Outside the animation area, I saw various things from Fantasia 2000. First there were still frames from the Noah's Ark segment with Donald Duck. One still showed Donald up against the wall of the Ark with the deck tilted. Various animals are rolling down the tilted deck toward Donald, probably ready to flatten him. Another picture showed a close-up of a dazed Donald, in the classic "birdies-flying-around-the-head" pose, only this time the "birdies" are really different animals, two-by-two.
Also from Fantasia, there were maquettes, which are little statues carved to use for a three-dimensional reference for a film character's design. The humpback whales from the whale segment were there. From the segment called "The Firebird Suite", there was the firebird itself. No, not a Pontiac sports car, but this cool looking bird made up of flames. The head and wings of the bird were extended, with large sweeping flames beneath, as if the bird is rising out of a fire. From the same segment was a similar figure, only it had the head and arms of a young woman, and hanging beneath like a long robe is a tangle of branches, leaves and vines. You kind of have to imagine it for it to make any sense. I would've snapped some pics, but they don't allow it.
HARRY NOTE: The following unidentified stuff is from ATLANTIS I believe...
One final thing I saw on a video screen was a black-and-white pencilled background from an unidentified film. I'm not exactly sure, but it looked to me like an ancient Roman skyline. It had a columned building with a dome on top, and a tall Washington Monument kind of pillar and another building nearby. There was very little detail to it, but I'm pretty sure it was based on Rome, possible Greece. I thought this was odd, because I don't remember hearing about any such project. Any ideas as to what it was from?
Well, that's all for now. I hope this information is new to you.
Jimmy the Calves.
